


Daemons, Part Two -- Stargate Atlantis

by NeverAndAlways



Series: Daemons [2]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Alternate Universe - Daemons, Daemons, Drabble, Drabble Collection, Gen, Writing Exercise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-25
Updated: 2017-04-04
Packaged: 2018-10-10 09:59:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10435209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeverAndAlways/pseuds/NeverAndAlways
Summary: Just what it says in the tags.





	1. John Sheppard

Xanthe loved Antartica. John teased her for it, of course -- "you're a serval, shouldn't you hate the cold?" and of course, she gave it right back. "We're the same person, John. You like it here; so do I."

Atlantis was a different matter. Xanthe went through the 'gate when John did, but from the moment they arrived she was miserable. Ears back, tail down, eyes big and black. She barely spoke to him. And when the shields failed and Atlantis rose, she abandoned all professionalism and crouched in the middle of the control room, her back arched, her fur bristling and her tail between her legs. Her fear felt like ice water in John's head.

She remained tense for weeks afterward. She jumped at the slightest noise and was always looking around, as though expecting a Wraith to appear around the corner. She only relaxed when they were alone in their quarters. And she could never say exactly why. The other daemons -- Alice, Sedge, Fiammetta -- were on-edge as well, but not as bad as Xanthe. Carson and Dr. Heightmeyer were sympathetic, of course, but there wasn't much they could do. Just take it one day at a time, they said. You'll adjust.

\----

It's 2100 hours. John and Xanthe just got off-duty and are lounging in their quarters. John is sprawled on the bed; Xanthe is lying on his chest, with her paws over his shoulders and her head on the pillow next to his. She sighs.

"John."

He takes out one earbud. "Yeah?"

"...I hate this place."

John pauses. He takes out the other earbud. "I know you do. I'm sorry." he lays a hand on her back.

"You don't hate it?"

"Well, it's not the most comfortable place to live, but no, I don't." Xanthe says nothing, but he can sense her frustration. "I know, I don't get it either." John stares up at the ceiling and idly strokes his daemon's back. Eventually he asks, "What is it you hate so much?"

Xanthe nuzzles a little closer and thinks for a minute. "I don't know," she says slowly. "It just feels wrong. Like we're not supposed to be here. And we've barely explored half of the city; who knows what else might be living here?" she lifts her head to see John giving her a sidelong smirk. "What?"

"That's not like you, bein' the scaredy-cat."

"We're in different galaxy with no way to get home. I think we should all be more scared than we are."

"Maybe, yeah, but where would that get us?" Xanthe twitches her whiskers and lies back down. "Look, Xanthe, I get what you're saying. It _is_ scary. But like it or not, this is home now, so we gotta get used to it." John brings his hand up to tousle the fur between her ears. "We're gonna be fine, Spots. I promise."

Xanthe shuts her eyes. "I hope you're right."

 

¤¤¤


	2. Rodney McKay

Rodney's daemon Settled early.

He was ten. Jeannie was so proud.

He was not.

Such a bright kid, top of his class even then. High school level math in fifth grade, top percentage in most other things. He fully expected Alice to Settle into something representative of that. An owl, maybe, or a cat, or even a snake. But  _this_ _?_ A slow loris? They aren't even interesting. Hell, they're just downright ugly. They've got the whole venomous mammal thing going for them, not to mention spectacular night vision, but that's it. Just a little ball of gray-and-brown fur with such a short bond that they can't be more than an arm's length away from each other -- and yet he'd do anything for her. And he loves her more than anyone else in his life. Funny how that works.

 

* * *

 

 

"Rodney?"

". . ."

"Rodney."

"Hm."

" _Rodney_."

"Yeah, one sec..."

Alice makes a noise of disgust. Time to break out the big guns. " _Meredith_!"

That does it. Rodney flinches. " _What_?"

"Have you heard anything I've been saying?"

"Not really. How long l have I asked you to stop calling me that?"

"Long enough that you should know I'm not going to stop."

Rodney rolls his eyes. "Fine. What do you want?"

"It's 0400. This is our third all-nighter this week."

"So?"

" _So_ , you're barely functioning. You need some sleep."

"I'm fine."

" _Meredith_." there's a warning note to Alice's voice.

"Look, do you have any idea how close I am to a breakthrough? I just need a little more time."

"You'll think more clearly after some sleep. And there'll be more time tomorrow."

"Tomorrow might be too late."

"This isn't time-sensitive, you said it yourself."

Rodney ignores this. With Alice still perched on his shoulder, he turns and bustles away to his whiteboard. When he passes a light fixture on the wall, Alice jumps onto it. Rodney doesn't notice until he reaches the end of their bond. He stops with a sharp intake of breath. Then he frowns at her.

"What are you doing?"

"Making you listen." Alice moves to a light fixture higher up on the wall. Rodney flinches again.

"Alright, stop, I'm listening!"

"Good." Alice calmly gathers her paws beneath her. "Now, you're going to shut down your experiment, close up the lab, and go to bed."

Rodney sighs and reaches for his daemon. "Alright, fine. Just gimme a few more minutes--"

She dodges his hand and leaps to the top of a nearby bookshelf. This is really stretching their limits. " _Now_."

Rodney screws his eyes shut. "Alice, you're hurting us."

Alice, too, is a little breathless. "I'm not coming down until you promise."

He stands on his toes as he reaches for her, trying to lessen the ache of it. "...Okay."

"Promise?"

"Promise. Please come down." Rodney's voice is small. There's none of his usual harshness.

Slowly, carefully, Alice comes down from the bookshelf. When she hops onto Rodney's outstretched hand, he relaxes visibly. And then he does something that surprises them both: he gathers her up and holds her close against his chest. His heart is hammering.

"Don't do that again." he whispers.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know how else to make you listen."

"Well, it hurt like hell." some of his usual snark creeps back in.

"I'm sorry." Alice wiggles in his grasp. "...Rodney, you're squishing me." He loosens his hold. Alice climbs up his jacket to his collar, where she perches at the juncture of his neck and shoulder. "Let's go to bed," she says gently, "we can talk more about this in the morning."

"Technically, it  _is_ morning," says Rodney, but ambles over to the computer anyway. He shuts it down, consolidates his papers to one desk, then walks to the door. Before he turns off the lights, he pauses, one hand resting on the switch. "I owe you one, don't I," he muses.

A tickle of amusement comes through their link. Rodney flips the light switch, and the doors close and lock behind him as he leaves.

"You usually do."

 

oooOOO000OOOooo

**Author's Note:**

> If you like the story, please leave a comment--I'd love to hear from you!


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